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Kayford Mountain is located near Cabin Creek, approximately 35 miles south east of Charleston, West Virginia, and is accessible from Exit 79 on Interstates 64 & 77. Kayford Mountain is a 45 minute drive from Yeager Airport or the State Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia. Larry Gibson regularly hosts public officials, students, journalists and other interested citizens who have not witnessed a mountain top removal project in person. No picture of any size can convey what it means to be encircled by this kind of project. Larry will be happy to give you, your class or other group a tour of the area.
Larry Gibson's family has lived on or near Kayford Mountain since the late 1700's. More than 300 relatives are buried in the cemetery on Kayford Mountain. Larry and his family used to live on the lowest lying part of the mountain, and looked "up" to the mountain peaks that surrounded them. Since 1986, the slow motion destruction of Kayford Mountain has been continuous -- 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Eighteen years after the "mountain top removal" project began, Larry Gibson now occupies the highest point of land around; he is enveloped by a 12,000 acre pancake in what was previously a mountain range.
Keeper of the Mountains Foundation was created to fund Larry Gibson's efforts to preserve and foster the values of moutain culture. KOTM also supports his ongoing effort to tell the story of the destruction of Kayford Mountain and the surrounding community as a result of mountain top removal. On February 2, 2005, the IRS determined that KOTM was exempt from taxation as a qualified 501 (c)(3) organization, and that contributions to KOTM are deductible under § 170 of the Internal Revenue Code. You may download a copy of our W-9 here .
KOTM's "On the Road Again" program arranges ongoing speaking engagements for Larry at colleges, universities, churches, public seminars and membership groups. The list of places Larry has visited is recited below, in part, and it continues to grow. Your tax deductible gift of $25.00 will fill up Larry's gas tank, and make another trip possible. You can make this contribution now through PayPal by clicking on the DONATE button to the left.
Camp Kayford. The 50 acre tract Larry occupies atop Kayford Mountain includes a natural "bowl" that begs to be hammered into an open air amphitheater. KOTM wants to design and build that theatre and make it a center for the display and celebration of mountain culture. Our ambition is to inspire a "band of brothers and sisters" to come camp on the mountain, hopefully this summer, and contribute the sweat, muscle and imagination to make this idea a reality.
Colleges and Universities On behalf of the Keeper of the Mountains Foundation (KOTM), Larry Gibson travels to individual colleges and universities throughout the United States. Larry speak to students, teachers and administrators concerning the need for sustainable energy production and use, and in particular to describe the environmental degradation that accompanies the practice commonly, if inaccurately, referred to as "mountain top removal." Colleges and universities visited in the last several years include: Yale University, William & Mary, Marshall University, Kent State University, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame University, West Virginia University, Ohio University, University of Tennessee, University of Cincinnati, and others.Public Seminars and Conferences In addition to presentations at academic institutions, Larry has participated in public seminars and conferences on a wide range of environmental projects, with the view towards providing insights into the unique problems of environmental degradation that mountain destruction. Such seminars have included: The Coal Summit (Charleston, WV 2003), Catholic Diocese Conference on Environmental Justice (Charleston, WV 2004), National Unitarian Conference (Nashville, TN 2000).Membership Organizations Larry has also spoken to many membership organizations on the topic of sustainable energy, including the following: Rotary Club of Columbus, OH; Monroe Congregational Church, Monroe, CT; First United Church of Christ Congregational Church, Milford, CT; Park Slope Methodist Church, Brooklyn, NY; Congregationalist Church of Brookfield, Brookfield, CT; Rutgers Presbyterian Church, New York, NY.
